Police officers join classrooms in Negros Island Region to prevent school violence
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
Police Brigadier General Rudecindo Reales launched the CampuSaya initiative to address rising school violence in the Negros Island Region of the Philippines.
Reales, who serves as the region's police director and is a father of two high school students, designed the program to move police work beyond traditional security. The initiative pairs police officers with backgrounds in psychology, teaching, and guidance counseling to serve as mentors and lecturers for students.
The program aims to reach 1.4 million junior and senior high school students across Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor. Officers will use instructional materials to address troubled learners and promote mental wellness until June 2027. The initiative rests on three pillars: strengthening campus security, ensuring student mental wellness, and fostering a culture of reporting where students feel empowered to speak up against bullying or suspicious behavior.
To support the physical safety of schools, Reales and the Philippine National Police partnered with the Department of Education and local government units to provide security personnel for public and private schools. This effort has mobilized nearly 2,000 security volunteers. Additionally, the program includes a community outreach component where police work with parents to teach them how to recognize warning signs in their children's behavior and communicate more effectively with them.
